When a pastor acknowledges the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior yet preaches that man must do good works to earn and/or keep his place in heaven, that’s the glawspel. It takes a keen eye and a discerning heart to realize when a pastor or teacher is teaching a glawspel because, as humans, we naturally desire to play a role in our salvation and sanctification.

From the first Adam to the Second and Last Adam (Jesus Christ), God protected His people for His name’s sake to bring redemption to all men. His entire redemptive plan is witnessed throughout history and has been fulfilled in Christ.

God’s covenants fall within four major movements: creation, fall, redemption, and new creation. The first biblical covenant is the Adamic Covenant (aka the Creation Covenant or Covenant of Works).

The oft-quoted adage is true: The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. By quoting the Old Testament, Jesus and the writers of the New Testament (or Covenant), reveal a deeper expository meaning of the Old Testament.

The process of discipleship includes discipline. Christian discipleship includes two kinds of discipline: formative and corrective.

Overall, devotionals can be a great aid to one’s meditation upon Scripture. But we should remember, devotionals are meant to be an enhancement to Scripture, not a replacement.

Think of your most loved unsaved person (for me, it’s my sister). What if that person has but a few months (or weeks, or days) to live according to the doctor’s timetable? For Christians, our most important ministry to them is to share the gospel — every day if you must.

Christians are to continue to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. As we do, our light shines brighter, and sinful actions of darkness are exposed in their deep contrast to the light.

When we surrender in repentance and faith to Jesus Christ, we acknowledge His salvation and Lordship over our lives. We are to be conformed to His image (Romans 8:29), which means we are to grow in Christ. How do we do that?

The Bible tells us, “Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:11). We, therefore, are to acknowledge and embrace His full presence – as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – within us. Growing in Christ is a daily, sometimes hourly endeavor as we yield to His Spirit to become more like Him and live holy lives (1 Peter 1:16). What joy to know the Lord gives us everything we need to live godly lives (2 Peter 1:3).

We’re going to begin to learn how to grow in Christ by studying some Bible passages that point us away from who we were, and towards who we are in Jesus. Many other passages will be referenced within the explanations of the key passages. Please pause to read them and reflect on what the Lord is telling us in each.

1. Seek Strength in Christ

1 John 5:11-13

“And the witness is this, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have that life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”

Have you ever wondered if you are truly saved? The Bible gives us assurance of our salvation partly because God knows the enemy will try to put doubt in us as soon as possible after our salvation. As Christ’s church, the devil can no longer possess us, but he can use external things and people and even “whisper” past sins in our ears to try to sway our hearts and thoughts (1 Peter 5:8; 2 Corinthians 2:11).

Yes, spiritual warfare is real, and we will struggle “against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12).

But take heart, Jesus has overcome the world; He has defeated the devil (John 16:33). When we struggle, it’s not in our own power, but in Christ’s. Our strength and our victory is in Christ. The Bible tells us we are to be strong “in the Lord and in the strength of His might” (Ephesians 6:10).

God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. As we abide in Him and walk in His triumphal procession (2 Corinthians 2:14), we live out His victory knowing we have eternal life in Him.

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Easter is a season for every Christian to reflect and worship—reflect on all Jesus Christ has done, is doing, and will do, and worship Him. Part of reflection and worship is meditating upon God’s Word and what it reveals to us about God’s redemptive plan, Christ’s atoning work for us, and His glory. Let’s meditate upon six people throughout history God used to point toward Christ. And then let’s marvel at Christ’s unwavering faithfulness, grace, and mercy.

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We will see that Job’s well-meaning friends indeed speak truth, but each of them gets the truth wrong according to their application. They also have no earthly idea what’s going on, so they rely on human wisdom to discern what they decide must be Job’s error(s).

The gospel before Jesus’ death is the same gospel after His death. The gospel for everyone means believing in faith the Person and work of Jesus, the Messiah sent by God to accomplish His redemptive purposes.

Reality has a fixed nature which is true and unaffected by a person’s beliefs, perceptions or experiences. We can say reality has an objective nature because God created the heavens and the earth. He determines what’s real and true, not us.